Arts & Entertainment
Donning heels
Annual October race inspires creativity, political statements
Stacy King as Catwoman. (Photo courtesy King)
17th Street High Heel Race
Tuesday, Oct. 24
Parade at 7 p.m.; race at 9
17th and R-JR.’s
Register at Cobalt
Some folks get so excited about the annual 17th Street High Heel Race, they start planning their costumes as soon as the race is over each year.
That’s the way it is for Stacy King, a local stylist who does drag on occasion as Carolina Sugabush.
“Pretty much as soon as it’s done, the next day I start thinking about what I want to do the next year,” the 43-year-old, longtime D.C. resident says. “I kind of, you know, look throughout the year and then something will just call to me.”
This year’s race, the 31st annual, is Tuesday, Oct. 24 (it’s always the Tuesday before Halloween) from 7-9 p.m. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Ba’Naka and Ruby Corado are this year’s grand marshals. To volunteer, go to JR.’s at 6:30 p.m. for a volunteer shirt and instructions. Look for the event on Facebook for full details.
Last year about 150 raced. Thousands come each year to watch but just as popular, though, are people who come in creative drag just to see and be seen.
Whatever’s going on in news and pop culture is invariably reflected in each year’s getups. Last year Kim Davis was a big one. This year, expect everyone from Wonder Woman to Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
This is King’s fourth year going in drag though he attended several years previously as a spectator. He’s going as Mystique from “X-Men” this year and has gone as Jessica Rabbit and Catwoman in previous years.
King generally spends anywhere from $150-300 on his costume and though he mostly only wears it once, he says it’s still “totally worth it.”
The creativity involved — these are never just off-the-rack costumes from a Halloween shop — is a big part of the fun.
“They call to you from the crowd, the recognize the character, tons of people want pictures with you,” he says. “It’s validating and I like pleasing the crowd. … Every year, I’m not joking, it takes an hour to get through the crowd after it’s over just because so many people want photos. I’m always with my group of friends. … It’s insane.”
Rene Mejia performs as Kabuki B. Lee, a drag daughter of local drag legend Shi-Queeta-Lee. He works the drag brunch at Nellie’s every weekend and also performs at other events with Shi-Queeta. The first time he ever went out in drag was to the High Heel Race in 2012.
When Mejia spoke to the Blade (a sponsor of this year’s race) earlier this week, he and his drag pals were still deciding what their theme was going to be. He says they’re such pros, they can crank out a concept quickly.
“I have a couple sewing machines and some of the girls are pretty talented,” the 37-year-old Suitland, Md., resident says. “They can whip something up pretty fast and it will be awesome.”
In previous years, he’s gone as Betty Boop, the bride from “Kill Bill,” Amy Winehouse and Harley Quinn.
“It’s a fun platform for everyone who wants to say something either politically, socially or whatever, with a lot of humor and creativity,” Mejia says. “People really do put a lot of thought into it. It’s impressive. This is coming from someone who works in drag on the weekends. It’s really astonishing what some of them do.”
Stacy King as Jessica Rabbit. (Photo courtesy of King)
Celebrity News
My evening with Madonna
Gay icon headlined the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10. They will be covering World Pride in Amsterdam.
AMSTERDAM — Madonna and 6,000 of her closest friends celebrated World Pride at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall early Sunday morning. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.
Madonna last Wednesday nearly broke the internet when she said on social media in Dutch that “I got somethin’ I wanna talk about,” referring to an opening line in “Danceteria,” one of the tracks on her “Confessions II” album that has received rave reviews since its July 2 release. The track has been on near constant replay on my playlist since I first heard it.
— Madonna (@Madonna) July 28, 2026
MISTR — a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term care that has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K. — later confirmed the rampant speculation. I woke up on July 30 to an email in my inbox from MISTR and the World Pride Music Festival PR team that said I was on the press list.
Madonna was indeed going to headline the World Pride Music Festival that Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced, and I was going to be there. OMFG!!!!
The gay icon had one more surprise in store.
The Dutch internet on Saturday once again broke over speculation that Kylie Minogue was going to appear alongside Madonna. I was getting ready to leave our hotel in Amsterdam on Saturday night when I saw a video of the two of them together.
“Madonna is now teasing Kylie Minogue on her social media … she may be one of her ‘special guests’ tonight,” I wrote in a text to Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff at 8:46 p.m.
“Have fun! This is turning into the gayest concert ever,” he responded.
I arrived at AFAS Live shortly before 11 p.m. My press contact walked me and two other Dutch journalists into the venue’s cavernous main room known as the Black Box. We made small talk for a few minutes before I started to walk around and listen to Josh Harrison who was on the decks.
Madonna was scheduled to take the stage at 1:30 a.m., but she is known for being late — she is Madonna and she does what she wants. Hayla, a British singer, and Bebe Rexha are among those who performed ahead of Madonna. Thousands of sweaty men — including a group of Australians next to me who were eagerly awaiting Kylie’s anticipated appearance — packed the Black Box and were dancing, anticipating what was to come.
MISTR CEO Tristan Schukraft at one point came on stage and declared Madonna was indeed in the building. The moment for which we were all eagerly waiting finally came shortly before 2:30 a.m.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage.
Stuart Price, who produced her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album in 2005, manned the decks during Madonna’s set.
She opened it with “I Feel So Free” from “Confessions II.” Madonna then sang “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria” to which this reporter — and everyone else — sang along.
Madonna then teased a surprise before she began to perform “Love Sensation.” Kylie soon appeared on stage. It was nearly too much for my fellow partygoers from Australia. It was indeed the gayest concert ever!
Madonna and Kylie performed “Love Sensation” together. They then sang “Hung Up” and “Sorry” from “Confessions on a Dance Floor” to round out the set that ended shortly after 3 a.m.
Madonna and I share the same birthday — Aug. 16 — and I would like to think she and Kylie gave me an early birthday present. In all seriousness though, it was an amazing night for me and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to be there.
“On the dance floor I feel so free,” says Madonna in the opening of “I Feel So Free.”
For those few precious hours at AFAS Live I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community.
Thank you, Madonna.
The Petal Release Party and Drag Show was held at Spark Social on Friday, July 31. Performers included Tiara-Missou, Labianna and Darcy de la Cuadra.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Celebrity News
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Kylie Minogue made surprise appearance alongside gay icon
AMSTERDAM — Madonna on Sunday headlined the final night of the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam.
The gay icon took the stage shortly before 2:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday) during Club Confessions, a set that MISTR, a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term HIV care, organized.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage inside Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall that can hold up to 6,000 people.
Stuart Price, who produced Madonna’s 2005 “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album and “Confessions II,” which debuted on July 2, DJed the set.
Kylie Minogue made a surprise appearance. She and Madonna performed a new remix of “Love Sensation” from “Confessions II.”
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
“Throughout my career, I’ve always supported efforts to fight HIV and AIDS, and that fight begins with education and access,” said Madonna in a MISTR press release. “With MISTR, (CEO) Tristan (Schukraft) is expanding access to HIV prevention and sexual healthcare for everyone. Through this work, he’s helping preserve and strengthen LGBTQ+ spaces while investing in the communities and culture that have long sustained us.”
Minogue in an Instagram post thanked Madonna, Price, Schukraft, and MISTR.
Madonna appeared at The Abbey in West Hollywood, Calif., in April. Madonna in June celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York’s Times Square.
Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced the World Pride Music Festival that also featured Bebe Rexha and Paris Hilton, among others.
“Pride has always been about bringing our community together,” said Resnicow. “At a moment when too many people are being told to hide or make themselves smaller, gathering openly, joyfully, and without apology matters more than ever. I couldn’t be prouder of what this festival brought to life in Amsterdam — one dance floor, completely free.”
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